Collapsible tube and supporting bracket therefor



R. R. VALE 2,368,952

COLLAPSIBLE TUBE AND SUPPORTING BRACKET THEREFOR Feb. 6, 1945.

Filed May 6, 1942 r 1 W5 fl m 7 P I 9 IW/IO/FJ v Q Vr V/ w W Mm Mi l/1 1 z 0 Patented Feb. 6, 1945 OFFICE COLLAPSIBLE TUBE AND SUPPORTING BRACKET THEREFOR Ruby R. Vale, Milford, Del.

Application May 6, 1942, Serial No. 441,892

1 Claim.

To the best of my knowledge and belief, all.

prior attempts to make collapsible tubes for pasty material, such as tooth-paste, soap, shaving cream and the like, out of other substances than soft 'metal or alloy thereof have failed.

This is apparently due to the fact that no material was found sufiiciently strong to retain the pasty material, sufiiciently impervious to moisture and mild acids or alkalis in the packaged material, and yet sufficiently pliable to be readily collapsed by hand or manually operable de-. vices to expel the material contained therein.

It is the purpose of my invention to avoid these difficulties by providing a collapsible tube of a non-metallic material such as a plastic or' thermoplastic; for example, that sold under the trade-marks respectively Lucite or "Cellophane, Plexiglas or the like.

In order to protect a collapsible tube made of such plastic material, I provide a casing or envelope therefor which may be readily portable to contain, envelop and support the collapsible tube therein and which may also be readily attached to a wall or other convenient place and form a convenient holder, envelope or casing for the collapsible tube in a convenient position for dispensing its contents.

In general, therefore, my device will be seen to consist of a closed tubular cylinder or other shape of relatively rigid plastic material, a collapsible tube of relatively pliable plastic material having a neck portion, and a connecting ring or annular member having interengaging screw-threads between the ring member and the casing and between the ring member and the neck of the collapsible tube; so that, when said two sets of screw-threads are engaged and the ring member rotated, the casing and the ring member and the tube and the ring member are drawninto and firmly held or clamped in a rigid, tight support, whereby the casing forms a reinforcement or protection for the collapsibletube.

It is a further feature of my invention that the collapsible tube abuts against and hence is supported by the outer casing or supporting member. Thus it will be seen that the collapsible tube and its pasty, liquid or semiliquid contents are supported or held in both a vertical and horizontal direction. Moreover, due to the engagement therebetween, the end of the collapsible tube opposite from its neck or outlet may be rolled around a spool carried by a key or the like, and, the torque and tortion of this operation being assisted by the outer casing, the contents of the collapsibletube by pressure are exunder the trade-name Cellophane.

pelled from the outlet of the neck. For a further exposition of my invention, reference may be had to the annexed drawing and specification and at the end thereof my invention will be specifically pointed out and claimed. In the drawing: Fig. 1 is a side elevation of my device with parts broken awa in longitudinal cross section. Fig. 2 isa front elevation of my device with parts broken away in longitudinal cross-section. In that embodiment of the invention chosen from among others for illustration in the. drawing and description in the specification, my device is shown as consisting of an elongated tube or cylinder or of any form preferably .made of relatively rigid plastic material such asthat sold under the trade-name Lucite. At its upper or top end, the casing or envelope I has screwthreads 2 thereon which intermesh with screwthreads 3 in top 4. Casing I may carry an ear 5 having a perforation 6 therethrough for the purpose of supporting the casing and the tube carried thereby in any convenient or desirable location. The casing I has, in one side, a longi- 'tudinal slot 1 for a purpose hereinafter more fully described.

Within casing I, there is provided a collapsible tube 8 made-of a relatively pliable or deformable plastic material preferably, but not necessarily, such as that sold as "Plexiglas or This tube is formed of a cylindrical body portion having its upper or closed end 9 joined together by heat or pressure so that the material of the collapv sible tube unites itself together or is united by means of a separate adhesive or cement or is held closed by'means of a separate clip (not shown in the modification illustrated). At its opposite or lower end, collapsible tube 8 has an end or breast portion l0 either formed by a thickened wall of the material itself or, as is shown in the example illustrated, by means of a perforated disk-shaped member into which bent-over flanges II, at the ends of the walls of the tubular part, are molded or formed during the manufacturing operation. The breast portion ID has an outlet l2 extending there'- through and carries, at its opposite face, a neck rim or edge. The inner surface of flange I1 is screw-threads 14 on neck l3.

Through slot 1 projects a key 20 having a head 2| adapted to be grasped by the hand of the user and having, at its inner end, a eye indicated at 22 through which the closed end 9 of the collapsible tube 8 may be passed as is best seen inFig. 2. The outer surface of key 20 surrounding the slot 22 therein its formed in the shape of two frusto-conical surfaces 23. This is to insure that the material of the collapsible tube 8, as it is wound upon key 20, is guided towards the center and, as far as possible, away from the walls of the outer casing or support I.

It is trusted that the method of assembly of my device will be readily understandable from the foregoing description. The top'4 may be removed and the collapsible tube 8 inserted through it or the collapsible tube may be inserted into'the open lower end of the body of the casing l when the connecting ring I6 is removed. In either case, the cap I is removed from the neck l3 and the'screw-thr'eads l4 started into the screw-threads IS on the connecting ring I5. To insert the collapsible tube'from the upper end of the holder Lthe cap 15 is removed and the threads M on the neck of the collapsible tube are engaged with the threads on the ring or element l6. Thus, the collapsible tube is held down in the holder l. The cap I5 is then screwed onto the neck or nipple of the tube. v To insert the collapsible tube from the lower end I of the holder l, the element I6 is removed and Connecting ring "5 has a the cap I5 is detached from the empty tube. The

threaded neck on the tube is screwed into the If desired, the screw-threads 2 and the. screw- I threads l8 may be made of the same pitch so that the cap 4 and the ring-shaped member l6 may be made duplicates, the hole in the ringshaped member being closed by a layer of paper or other readily removable closure which would be omitted when the element is used as the ringshaped member 16.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that modifications may be made in details of construction and in matters of mere form without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

A container comprising a collapsible tube, a casing for the same provided with a longitudinal slot and a key extending through the slot and'having an opening therein adapted to receive one end of the tube, the outer surface of the key surrounding the opening being in the form of two conic frustums having their larger bases spaced and having their smaller bases coin ciding and arranged in abutting relation so as to give'the rolled up material of said tube clearance from the walls of the surrounding casing and so as to draw it toward the middle of the key. a

RUBY R. VALE. 

